Of the many composers of Italian opera during the 18th century, Johann Adolph
Hasse eclipses all save Handel. Hasse was undeniably well connected; he
studied with Nicola Porpora and Alessandro Scarlatti, and he married the
famous soprano Faustina Bordini. Although he was based at Dresden, his operas
were performed all over Europe.

In general terms Hasse’s graceful arias can anticipate the rococo
style galant, and his orchestra succeeds in matching the music to the drama.
He was the favourite composer of the poet Pietro Metastasio, each of whose
librettos he set at least once. It was through him that Dresden became one
of the most important centres for music north of the Alps. The Italians,
whose operatic style was now being substantially represented by a north
German composer, honoured him with the affectionate name ‘il caro
sassone’ (‘the dear Saxon’).

Didone Abbandanota has a complex history. Metastasio originally wrote
his libretto for the Teatro di San Bartolomeo in Naples, and his adaptation
of the celebrated story of the Trojans in Carthage was the most popular
treatment of the Queen Dido tale in whole of the 18th century. It was even
adapted into the 19th century by Saverio Mercadante, an opera composer Giuseppe
Verdi particularly admired.

Hasse wrote his opera in 1742 in connection with the celebrations surrounding
the birthday of August III, the Elector of Saxony, to whom he had been appointed
Kapellmeister back in 1731. Needless to say, the first interpreter of the
title role was Faustina Bordini. The convention of the lieto fine,
or happy ending, was paramount in opera seria plots during the first
half of the 18th century, but in a handful of works Metastasio experimented
with the dramatic impact made possible by the tragico fine, or tragic
ending. This is the case in Didone abbandonata, whose final scene
is Dido’s suicide.

It is interesting that Metastasio begins the action of the story only at
a late stage, after Aeneas’s decision to depart for Italy has already
been made. The nature of his resolution is explored in the first act, and
overall it provides the basis for the conflict that lies at the heart of
the work. However, as in Purcell’s famous treatment of the story -
which is on a much smaller scale in every sense - it is Dido’s anticipation
of the personal catastrophe which will befall her, expressed in her desperate
efforts to prevent Aeneas’s departure, that is of most interest.

It is understandably during the opera’s final scene that the intensity
of emotion surrounding Dido’s character and her music reaches its
height. Here Hasse is bold, since this is the only closing monologue to
be found in any of Metastasio’s librettos. The scene is notable for
the use of versi spezzati (broken verses), which reveal her deep
insecurity. At its heart lies the short cavatina ‘Vado … ma
dove’, whose music derives from the surrounding declaimed accompanied
recitative. Thus Hasse emphasises her helplessness through the contrasting
natures of accompanied recitative and the more lyrical aria style, a contrast
which serves to highlight her desolation. The tragic style prevails.

The present live recording delivers sound that is clear and generally well
balanced, though along the way there are sundry bumps and crashes which
from the listener’s point of view occur for no particular reason.
There is no libretto issued with the set, but one is available for reference
via the Naxos website. However, printing it off would be a time-consuming
and costly exercise, which presumably is why Naxos chose not to include
it with the recording itself.

Therefore the burden of responsibility placed upon the booklet synopsis
becomes the greater, and it needs to be said that this booklet is something
of a disappointment. There is relatively little relationship between the
cue points for the various scenes and arias, and the story which is described.
Why not include the cue points within the synopsis?

A similar stricture applies to the layout of the discs themselves. Since
there are three acts, the logical approach would be to allocate each act
to a single CD. But no: Act Two is split between discs two and three, even
though the whole of it, at less then 70 minutes, is shorter than the timing
of the third CD which combines the second half of Act Two with the whole
of Act Three. It makes no sense at all and is hard to fathom.

The orchestral playing of the Hofkapelle München is lively and colourful,
allowing the range of Hasse’s orchestration to make its mark. Moreover
the opening sinfonia is splendidly done. The vocal parts are dominated by
high voices, and only the minor part of Osmida (baritone) is allocated to
a lower voice. It says much for the performances of the major roles that
distinctive personalities are conveyed, and both Theresa Holzhauser as Dido
and the counter-tenor Flavio Ferri-Benedetto as Aeneas emerge with great
credit. The latter’s heroic departure aria in Act Three is a veritable
tour de force, so too Dido’s final scene and her important
solo at the centre of Act Two, which has music of beautiful and deeply felt
sincerity.

Terry Barfoot

Brings to the catalogue a major work by one of the most important 18th century
opera composers. By no means perfect but certainly worthwhile.